The vision, mission, projects and initiatives

The Foundation has the goal; To create a society that works for all individuals regardless of their braintypes, we develop in projects, the tools, community, campaigns, researches and products, to enhance societal equality, social connections and cooperation between neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals, thereby supporting to move forward towards a neurodiverse society.

research activities, production, innovation and distribution of projects that facilitate equality, self-management and effective joining for neurodivergents in the classroom, on the working space, in friendships, in groups in relationships and as individuals in society.

campaigns of information that foster mutual understanding, curiosity and acceptable between neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals,

developing knowledge and tools for effective communication that take into consideration how communication and cooperation is enacted by neurodiverse individuals

Dutch Neurodivergent Narwhals – run by Neurodiversity Foundation and their supporters

Divergent Minds Online Magazine – run by Neurodiversity Foundation and their supporters

National Neurodiversity Pride Day- run by Neurodiversity Foundation and their supporters

Presentation of the ATHENS Initiative

Investors

We are appreciative to the choice of our investors to fund our research efforts and productional efforts, and mention specifically:

Cor Wit Fund: Funding for the research projects

City Lab: Funding for the production of work-related tooling

SIDN : Funding for the prototype of Sings Messenger.

We seek more funding to continue or complete our research, projects and products. For tips, talks or introductions to people that may wish to support our dream or technology, send a mail to tjerk@neurodiversiteit.nl.

Locations

We are based in the Netherlands and have offices in Rotterdam and Amstelveen. Please contact us, if you wish to meet us.

Foundational Statement

Foundational Statement:

Who we are, why we are here and how we will impact the world to make it a better place for all.

15 February 2018, Amsterdam

Today a new organization has come into this world, the Neurodiversity Foundation, to bridge the gap between Neurodivergents and Neurotypicals. And it is an organization build on Love.

In our research for the best solutions to create equal opportunities for persons on the Spectrum, we got into contact with so many individuals wanting this world to be a fairer one for all. So many using their personal influence to create safer havens in stormy oceans.

We see that love, looking into the stories of parents of Autists and what lengths they will go to support their child.

We see that love, in corporate leaders aiming to provide neurodivergent employees with the works and the setting they can thrive in.

We see that love, in the coaches and academics, talking, testing & typing frantically beyond any regard for working hours.

We see that love, in friends taking their neurodivergent buddies by the hand in the confusing social jungle.

We see that love, from neurodivergents, pining to connect, to cooperate, to be, with others in a world that often doesn’t understand us.

This is the love that founded our organization. An organization focused on creating research, prototypes, co-creation schemes, to push forward the technical innovation that drives the move towards a more equal, inclusive neurodiverse society. Like the 2Tango.Signs project, or the different non-verbal technologies to circumvent the communication problems we face daily interacting with the world. An organization to support neurodivergents, their parents, best friends, bosses and coaches with the tools we need, and pushing progress in the societal awareness we wish for.

Diversity, makes a group stronger. Neurodiversity means that differences are to be celebrated, not repressed, but optimized and that all are equally welcome to the party. Let’s make this world, a better place, one for all of us.

The “Stichting Neurodiversiteit” (Dutch for Neurodiversity Foundation) is founded on 15th of February 2018 (the day after Valentines day), with Tjerk Feitsma as founder, Omotola Bolarin as CTO, Lana Jelenjev and Eleonora Spagnuolo as board members. Autism is our initial research focus. The foundation is created to bridge the gaps, serving neurodivergents, their parents, best friends, bosses, and coaches. We are open to cooperation, co-creation, consultancy, information dissemination, innovation, educational partnerships, and advocacy to further a future that is equally welcome to all braintypes.

About the international cooperation project: The ATHENS Initiative

The “Athens Initiative” is the project name of international cooperation jumpstarted by the Netherlands-based “stichting Neurodiversiteit” (Neurodiversity Foundation). It invites programmers and builders on & beyond the Spectrum to build tools to create equality, self-determination, self-mangement and social connections for neurodivergents. The main project currently, is the Signs project, which creates a new autistic friendly sign language, a self-management app, and a virtual assistant to support social survival.

How about you?

We are open to collaborators and contributors. If there is a reason, we’ll want to talk to you, let us know: send us a message.

If you like us, like us, but if you are like us, join us, this is your invitation.

Team

The Team of the Neurodiversity Foundation:

If you like us, like us, if you want to work with us, work with us.

– Lana Jelenjev: Board

Lana Jelenjev is an Educational consultant for International organizations and schools. She provides training and support on various areas related to curriculum design, project planning and personal development.
Her background in Family Life and Child Development along with her certifications on Gifted and Talented Education, Reading Instruction and Making Thinking Visible has shaped her passion on creating a culture of learning and engagement.
She is a mom to two children and a loving partner to her husband. In her spare time she writes poetries and creates guided meditations.
Lana brings to her own company Co.LAB her knack in looking at the big picture and making it visible into actionable steps, plus her love for building strong, supportive communities. Lana is een board-member for the Neurodiversity Foundation.

– Eleonora Spagnuola: Board

Eleonora Spagnuolo is a multipassionate professional with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of creativity, communication, and branding.
With a MA in Philosophy, and a BA in Graphic Design, she brings together the scientific approach and her hands-on experience on being creative for a living. In 2014 she founded The Creativity Project, to explore creativity in all its aspects and guide people in expressing the fantastic worlds hidden in their minds.
She is a mom to two kids and wife to a talented filmmaker. She loves running and is addicted to coffee, acrylic paint and rock music.
Eleonora brings to her own company Co.LAB her unique point of view on being an highly creative person with a different wired mind, her experience in branding and her mission to support creatives in expressing their unique, weird self. Eleonore is a board-member of the Neurodiversity Foundation.

– Saskia Buma: Board

Saskia Buma is autism expert and is a trainer in autism awareness and neurodiverse behaviour. She has a wide network and experience to offer. She lobbies on the behalf on young autists, as a mother of one, and as a political activist. She is also the co-founder of the Prikkelprofiel initiative.

– Tjerk Feitsma: CEO

Tjerk Feitsma is a neurodivergent impact entrepreneur who wants to make the world a better place. Convinced of the statement that ‘Diversity is Strength’, he has been prototyping and building solutions to create equality, interpersonal connection and selfmanagement for neurodivergents in a neurotypical society.

– Omotola Bolarin: CTO & lead developer

Omotola Bolarin is a wizard and visionary when it comes to drafting tech for the future. Reverse engeneering the thinking patterns of artificial intelligence, and thereby clarifying for humans what it feels like to be a bot, is one of his passions.
His knowledge on automation, integration and his personal perspective can produce and guide the robots of the future, to doing what the world needs them to do. Omotola is building the AI for the 2Tango.Signs project. Omotola brings as a CTO of the Neurodiversity Foundation a lot of skills, bravado and brains into the mix, and will keep the horizon of the future, an interesting one.

– Kees Heil: Senior Developer/Researcher

Kees is a great programmer who is very analytical, enthusiastic about tech and open to non-conventional solution-oriented routines. He is very persistent in endeavouring technological goals and getting results. He is a keen abstract thinker and shaper of adequate proces & productmodels. A spectrum professional working diligently on the Signs project, building tools for a neurodiverse society.

– Wybe Zeyl: Developer

Wybe is a web programmer coding the coaching-app project. He is a problem solver that learn new things every day. His most recent work concerns the activity-matching software of ‘Together’, both for use in closed groups as for use directed to the wider public.

– Erik Post: Developer/Reseacher

Erik is a researcher that focuses on machine learning and meta context modelling. He is also engaged in the research preparations, en is the official Liaison of the foundation for the JADS research efforts in ’s Hertogenbosch.

– Szymon Maka: Developer/Researcher

Szymon Maka is a tech evangelist and strategist working on Mini.AI and the language components, but mainly on the outward bound outreach of the organization. He is also keen to explore the many ways in how Signs & Mini.AI can be distributed in the world.

– Wouter Grond: Developer/Researcher

Wouter is a programmer that works to support the artificial intelligence project. He has skills in PHP and is excellent in finding patterns.

– Charell Bos: External Reseacher TU/e

Charell Bos is doing research on self-defining and self-communication of emotional states, supported by the visionairy assistant professor Jelle van Dijk from the TUe, who specializes in Diversity Computing (DivComp).

– Natalie Glomsda: External Reseacher UvA

Natalie Glomsda is researching into the ‘voice’ of ‘little sister Mini.AI’, and on the interventions suggested after defined-state-of-being and state-change.

– Jessy de Bodt: Independent Reseacher

Jessy de Bodt is researching a new iteration of the Signs language, developed from an autistic perspective. He is a good man and a graduate of Fontys education.

– Roy Houtkamp: External Reseacher from Fontys

Roy Houtkamp is researching into the connection and conversion of self-identified skillsets or niche skills that the users wishes to improve, and to automate the suggested intervention and tools that support that intent.

– Signsgame team: External research team from Fontys

This team is developing and researching prototypes for quick comprehension and usecases of the signs language through gamified learning. They are very clever and balanced team, and we hope that their innovation will lead new users through the initial stages of using the autistic sign language called Signs.

– Diantha Voskuijl

Diantha Voskuijl is an excellent ambassador for autistics in the Netherlands, and has supported us by being one of our judges in the VR Challenge. We hope to support her voice, and wish her message on neurodiversity and autism is heard and understood by many.

– John Scholtz

John Scholt is an appreciated external advisor of the 2Tango organisation & Neurodiversity. John is a great entrepreneur with a broad skillset, that aids with advice an coaching.

Join us

pride

The 18th of June 2019 will be the second Neurodiversity Pride Day, organized in the Netherlands by the Neurodiversity Foundation. Last year was focussed on ‘Neurodiverse Families’, but this year we switch the theme to ‘Neurodiverse Friends’, for there is a lot of that going around in the world, and it deserves celebration. We all have friends who are wired differently, and these are persons who’ve earned our friendship and trust. All of us have Neurodifferent friends that we appreciate, that we like for who they are, that add something to our lives, whether we are Neurodivergent or Neurotypical ourselves. On this day, we will show that, in friendship, bridging the gaps between us, is not so hard. And its worth it.

As an action, on this 2nd ever Neurodiversity Pride Day, we request from our friends, to mark this day in their calendar as Neurodiversity Pride Day, and use the Neurodiverse pride-emblem to show love, connection and support to all Neurodivergent people, by putting the emblem on their social-media profile pictures. The emblem has the ‘faded rainbow’ in it, which is the symbol for neurodiverse Pride, similar to the vividly colored rainbow being used a symbol for LTGB Pride. In this simple way, with this simple action, we create a wave of acceptance and appreciation, to be seen by all, as a message for a brighter future to come.

Note: The links to the social-media emblem will be placed on this page. This page will be updated.

In this world, there are no mistakes, only variations. We are all here for a reason, and there is quaint beauty beyond the mold of the majority. So it is with great pride that, on June 18th in 2018 in the city of Rotterdam, for the very first time in our nation, we will celebrate neurodivergent uniqueness, together with neurodiverse families in the Netherlands. In the event, there will be speeches and drinks, and we salute, those who accepted, appreciated or supported us being who truly we are. Those who helped us break the molds and the masks. Those who helped us accept ourselves. Those who support us, ‘in being flappy’.

Its a day of ‘neurominority pride’, to stand strong and mark the uniqueness that we are. Pride for being exactly who we are, in a world that may not understand us. A world that feels different from us, but that is still our own home, and the home of those we love. It is day to choose love, to choose connection, choose (self)acceptance. To shine brighter, regardless of the difficulties we faced.

Neurodivergent Narwhals celebrating!

And for some, its a day for coming out, to unmask, to discontinue the hiding, and reveal yourself unto others. Its a day to appreciate neurodivergents like, or unlike you, for who they really are. Its also a day of gratitude, where we honour those who helped us get us where we are now.

The event is in grattitude for those who supported us, and in preparation of a global Neurodiversity Pride event, for which we overtly invite ASAN, ANI & AE to join us & AF4 in 2019.

Speeches by Tjerk Feitsma, Lana Jelenjev, Omotola Bolarin and Eleonora Spagnuolo. If you want to be a speaker or presenter, send the foundation a message via the contactform. Access is free for all.

For this foundation, for this very first event, we, as a team, honour the Cor Wit Fonds with their generous gift of 200.000 to finance our researchprojects on autistic communication. Also we honour specific persons who have helped us on our path towards inclusion or understanding. Those that learned us something new. Those that showed us something we needed to see, by being something awesome themselves, wrapping a specific life lesson to remember and integrate in our daily choices, indirectly helping us to find our voice as a collective, as its growing, in numbers, in strength, and in decibels;

If you'd like to send us a message, use the contactform on this site! On the information page you'll find all the projects, vision, missionstatement, campaigns, also the Linkedin profiles of CTO Omotola & CEO Tjerk.